venom

CHAPTER 38 | Twilight

"Thanks," Taehyung says gratefully as Yoongi tosses him a bottle of water. The blond gives him a strange look before trekking off to assist the others.

The abandoned storage garage on the outskirts of Seoul is murky on the inside, with unintelligible greasy puddles on the dusty concrete floors and a high looming roof. There are no windows, just some blank, cracked stained walls. The smell of grime reeks. Taehyung's thankful he could discover this place, because it's surely better than being sought out and eliminated by W.R.A.I.T.H.

Terror and excitement intertwine in his being. He finds himself eager to get rid of W.R.A.I.T.H once and for all, but terrified that it could all go wrong. His mother, Kim Lia, and his slightly elder sister Kim Jihyo are still out there somewhere, held in confinement at that pristine, shiny iron building centered in the heart of Seoul. He knows they're alive. As far as he knows, President Diggory has not been cloned yet, only her daughter. So based on both his mother and sister's ages, they should both be safe. Along with Hoseok's family.

A pant of regret shoots through him. Maybe they'd know more if he hadn't killed Heechul, but by the time the end of their visit came, he already knew enough about the Judas Viper and its venom to have use for him anymore. Heechul knew that the R.I was there. It was too risky to allow him to live.

But Heechul could have still had family, had a future of breaking out of W.R.A.I.T.H's clutches. Maybe he could've grown to help people. Maybe he could've helped expose their evil.

He dismisses his thoughts and ponders over how exactly they will get into W.R.A.I.T.H's headquarters. After some easy searching on Hoseok's laptop, which, somehow, was still in perfect condition when they retrieved it from the loaded black van, they found W.R.A.I.T.H's headquarters. Simply enough, the tall building is named after W.R.A.I.T.H itself, but obviously the public has no real idea of what evil they're doing in that place.

Taehyung's gaze falls upon Seokjin, who sleeps peacefully on a homemade duvet fluffed up on the ground. His hands fold over his bare stomach, which is bandaged up abundantly in stained white cloth. Taehyung chews on the inside of his cheek. If only he had been faster . . Or if he had killed more guards . . He could've done more . . .

He's at least relieved you were able to assist so much as you did in time. For somebody who's so accustomed to sniping from a distance, talent in close combat certainly runs in your blood . . . But he's certain years of being vulnerable and afraid as a teenager on the streets can do that to a woman.

Admiration courses through him.

"How is he?" Taehyung says gently as a figure plops down beside of him. It's Hoseok.

"The best he can be," Hoseok replies earnestly. He grins a heart-shaped smile, holding up his hand to reveal a large bottle of Smirnoff. "Look what I found."

Hoseok takes a healthy swig, then reaches it out to Taehyung, who takes it from him. He drinks a few gulps without breaking a sweat or even making a face. Hoseok gapes at him for a moment, but turns away convincing himself he should not be surprised.